Exodus Communications Wednesday said it has identified a suspect in the break-in of one of its security-related Web sites last week and "is currently working with the proper authorities to prosecute the offender."

In a statement, the Web hosting firm said that last Friday a hacker defaced an "outer layer security Web page" on the site that serves as an entry point for customers accessing their Web sites' process log data.

Company officials say there was no evidence that customer logs were viewed, or that any customer data had been compromised. However, new passwords and login procedures will be implemented as part of improved security measures.

"Exodus operates a multi-layer defense strategy for all customer data elements and security infrastructure environments," company officials said in a statement. "So, in this case only an outer-layer Web site was defaced, no inner layer security facilities were affected."

Exodus officials say their security team detected the breach immediately and took the affected server offline. The site was brought up on backup, while the team traced back the network connection to determine the source of the attack.

The breach comes on the heels of an announcement from Exodus late last month that it was expanding its managed security services. Analysts say Exodus, which has a security staff of more than 300, has built a strong security service because of its years of experience and its acquisition of smaller security companies.

"While total security is impossible, Exodus takes all security events, no matter how slight, very seriously and is actively engaged in not only stopping and correcting such attacks, but prosecuting the hackers, as well," the company said in a statement.

This story, "Exodus targets suspect in security breach" was originally published by
Network World.